For the rest of fall 2015, ASUC SUPERB will be screening some of the summer’s biggest blockbusters right here on campus. From explosive action flicks to family-friendly animations, this semester has an enjoyable film for everyone. Take a look at our exclusive announcement of SUPERB’s fall 2015 film calendar, and say hooray for quality and affordable entertainment!

Past films in the semester

August 29: Pitch perfect 2 & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
September 11: Forrest Gump

Inside Out

When: September 26 at 9:00 p.m.
Where: Memorial Glade

Pixar’s “Inside Out,” the studio’s newest masterpiece, follows Riley, an 11-year-old girl, trying to adjust to her new life in the city of San Francisco after moving from the suburbs of Minnesota. But in typical Pixar fashion, the story isn’t that simple. Instead, “Inside Out” charts Riley’s emotional transition into her new life and even adolescence by showing her emotions. With five personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger — we literally see how Riley is coping with this new chapter in her life.

Additionally, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, helped director Pete Docter work on how to portray each emotion as accurately as possible.

Equal parts hilarious and moving, the film shows how emotions create who we are. The way the movie inventively shows this helps it become a one-of-a-kind reflection on how all emotions, especially the much-maligned sadness, are needed in our lives. Easily the most original movie of the year, it’s also one of the best, animated or otherwise.

— Levi Hill

Jurassic World

When: October 1 at 9:30 p.m.
Where: Memorial Glade

What’s not to love about a fantastical, two-hour romp that features giant, computer-generated dinosaurs, a studly Chris Pratt and a margarita-wielding tourist who will be forever canonized in meme culture? “Jurassic World” is a dazzling spectacle that, even in its gruesome third act, never loses the calculated, glossy thrill of an amusement park — minus the long lines. All’s well in the newly-erected Jurassic World — a tropical Mecca for families, dinosaur nerds and avaricious military generals alike. That is, until, they’re held captive by an uber-fearsome, genetically modified dinosaur rampaging through the theme park. Now it’s up to the sly, devilishly clever dinosaur trainer Owen Grady (Pratt) and the uptight, damsel-not-in-distress park operator Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to save the World from dino-dominion and the nefarious militant hell-bent on weaponizing these beasts.

“Jurassic World” is a cinematic joyride that serves to please — a behemoth of a summer blockbuster that charms and thrills through the sheer force of homage and suspension disbelief. It’s fully reverent, and proudly so, to its forefather: The iconoclastic “Jurassic Park.” Get your high heels on, folks. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

— Joshua Bote

Trainwreck

When: October 16 at 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Where: Wheeler Auditorium

Comedian and Emmy award winner Amy Schumer writes and stars in her first feature-length film, “Trainwreck.” Judd Apatow directs this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that tries to expel traditional, media-driven female conventions. Schumer plays Amy Townsend, a career-driven journalist who is assigned to write a feature on sports doctor Aaron, played by Bill Hader. Aaron is a great guy but Amy isn’t so into commitment.

The film focuses on Amy trying to figure out what she wants in her career, the struggles of dealing with her family, her attempts to figure out her intimate life and the pleasures of drinking. Be prepared to laugh a lot with Schumer’s dry and unapologetic humor. Also, LeBron James and John Cena will surprise the audience with their acting and their ability to leave a lasting impact among seasoned comedians. You will see Cena’s butt, and remember that Hader is the love interest, so there really is no excuse to not see the movie.

The film’s takeaway and what seems to be Schumer’s overall message: It’s okay to be a woman who’s funny and likes to drink. And if you aren’t funny, then it’s still okay to be a woman who likes to drink.

— Jeanette Zhukov

Minions

When: November 6 at 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Where: Wheeler Auditorium

The minions are back — and this time with a little more creativity, spunk and cuteness. After serving master after master unsuccessfully, having fallen into a state of sadness, the minions long to find a villain who will take them in. Kevin, along with his friends Stuart and Bob, travels from place to place in search of the best master.

Along the way, they discover the difference between good and evil and what it means to make sacrifices for those you love. Starring Sandra Bullock and Michael Keaton, the motion picture takes the cuteness and lovable nature of these minions to a whole new level. A prequel to the “Despicable Me” series, this animated movie blends a comical, silly mood with the virtues of loyalty, love and commitment. This film is a must-see for those who are looking for some heart-warming moments filled with laughter.

— Mana Anvar

Mad Max: Fury Road

When: November 6 at 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. 
Where: Wheeler Auditorium 

“Mad Max: Fury Road” is everything you’ve ever wanted in a movie about a car-chase odyssey through a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland. The film revolves around a band of escapees pursued by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a totalitarian despot in the hunt for his five wives, whom he held captive as breeding stock. “We are not things” being their cry of agency, the wives’ life-or-death grasp for liberation propels the film into radical feminist territory. Their protectors, the austere antihero Max (Tom Hardy) and a badass, one-armed insurgent named Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), are in search of salvation as they trudge across a land where humanity exists at its fringe.

Never a lapse in its quick-moving, tension-filled momentum, the film entrances viewers with near-religious visual effects and political themes of subversion and revolution. With a mechanized madness, “Mad Max” transcends the existing action-apocalypse film canon and redefines the “cult” in cult classic — quite literally — as the audience is left in awe, awaited at the gates of Valhalla.

— Valerie Khau

 

This article is a two-part series on ASUC SUPERB. Check back on 9/28 for an announcement of SUPERB’s fall 2015 concert line-up.